Bigger villain leads to a bigger hero: Karan Malhotra

If Sanjay Dutt's role as the villainous Kancha Cheena in Karan Johar's Agneepath remake seems to overpower Hrithik Roshan's portrayal as protagonist Vijay Dinanath Chauhan, it was done with a purpose, says director Karan Malhotra.

"The villain of the film is big because the achievement of the hero gets bigger in conquering him. It is as simple as that. To assume Kancha's character is bigger and Vijay's is weak or vice-versa would be inappropriate because when you will see the film, you will realise that the bigger the villain, the bigger the hero," Malhotra said at the unveiling of the latest trailer of movie, here.

Sanjay, who sports a bald look, also seconds the view.

"If you look at Batman or Spiderman, their villain is very powerful. There is a reason for that. It is because the hero ultimately becomes more powerful and he finishes the villain," the 52-year-old actor said.

Meanwhile, producer-director Karan Johar says that unlike in the original Agneepath, the character of Vijay Dinanath Chauhan in this version is that of an underdog.

"The portrayal of Vijay Dinanath Chauhan is completely different from Amit-ji's (Amitabh Bachchan) portrayal. He was not an underdog there. In this, the character is an underdog."

"It's important to understand that the character is being played by a younger boy. Vijay Dinanath Chauhan was portrayed by Amit-ji at a certain age in the film. So when an underdog uplifts and rises against this impactful, large, big and scary villain, that's when you feel the triumph of the hero spirit," said Johar, whose father, Yash Johar, produced the original film in 1990.

The new Agneepath will hit theatres Jan 26 next year. It also features Priyanka Chopra and Rishi Kapoor.